Following the Tractor

Many a reader will love this book, not just those who are fascinated by machinery. It is a tale of a tractor and the tasks it fulfils throughout the farming year. The collaged pictures are made from a variety of manufactured and handmade papers, the differences easily spotted on the end papers, and they reward close attention throughout the book. We follow the seasons, as the sparse yet telling text, partly rhyming, outlines how the tractor in turn pulls the plough, the drill, the fertiliser, each to perform their special function in the fields. Come the spring, rains and warm sunshine result in germination and growth. Eventually the tractor, in turn, pulls the harvester to cut the crop, the baler, and lastly the trailer, to carry the bales back to the farm. Winter chills complete the year’s cycle, and the tractor rests temporarily in the barn. Keen searching of the delightful collages will reveal many sub-plots.  There are two solo dog-walkers in spring, whereas by wintertime they appear to be an item!  This is so much more than a book about a tractor. It is celebratory, following the seasons, the humans and the creatures that inhabit the farm, in both awe and wonder. Find a copy!